One of the best pieces of adviceI can give is this... don't be precious with your artwork. Don't have a fear of "messing up the good part" or "I'm going to keep this one good eye I drew and work on the rest." You cripple yourself if you don't have the freedom to explore. Sometimes the only way to work out a drawing is to start back at the beginning. If you did it once, you can do it again. Don't be precious with it and don't handcuff yourself to your drawing or your reference. You very well might find a better drawing if you're not scared to start again.

In honor of being a curator pick this month at EveryDayOriginal.com, I wanted to show the previous drawing that brought me to Winter Night with Jack Frost. It is for sale for $425. Go to EDO.com for details.

I started this portraits as a demo at my artist booth during an art show. To the left is the reference that I fell in love with and below (bottom left) is the drawing I ended with by the next day. I enjoyed drawing this piece for the subtle challenges it provided. I loved her mouth, the strokes I could play with in the clothing and naturally her cute freckles. However...I just wasn't super happy with it.

That weekend we left for Easter. The distance from my drawing was just what I needed. By the time I got back, I hated it. It was a fun exercise, but the face was too weird, the drawing was too stiff and I really didn't care about the character. I got too stuck on the reference and all the little pieces. So, I wiped it ALL out saving the basic shapes. I threw out the reference and just drew. I then discovered a more expressive and fun illustration, which has turned into one of my favorites. I wish I had kept my progress shots for this piece to further my point. I'll make an effort to document my next piece and post again.